Night 30: ‘Freaks’ (1932)
This is part of the ‘31 Nights of Horror Classics’ series, which I’ll be doing for Halloween 2017. Every night of this month, I’ll be watching a horror film made before the 90s and I’ll be posting a short review here.
Beware whom you cross, for unrestrained ambition and desire can drive you to your doom!
There is a new mysterious attraction at the local freak show: a former beauty who has now fallen to disgrace. She was once a beautiful trapeze artist who tricked and married the wealthy owner of a circus sideshow, the kindhearted midget Hans (Harry Earles). However, her intentions were anything but honorable, and when his friends discovered her plot, they decided to gather their strength… and stop her at all costs.
I have seen Freaks mentioned a lot in horror publications, and I was never keen on the idea of watching it. I have never enjoyed the exploitation of deformities for entertainment purposes –or any other, really-, so I always found one way or another to postpone watching this movie.
Now that I’ve finally seen it, I find it an interesting yet conflicting film.
Freaks has some undeniably great characters, some of whom don’t even intervene a lot. My favorite, of course, was sweet Frieda. You actually feel her sadness and mourn the injustice with which she is treated. And Daisy Earles’ performance is arguably one of the best in the entire film.
It’s why the ending with the two lovers reuniting worked for me. Although I could very well do without it -since the scene preceding it was so powerful- I was actually glad to see Frieda finally be happy.
But beyond the few joyful moments, the movie is, at times, terrifying. The scene when Olga (Cleopatra) and Hercules (Henry Victor) are punished for their misconduct is one of the most unforgettable sequences I have ever seen. Even though we don’t see what actually happened –although we do get an idea when Olga is finally shown at the end- it is still a disturbing moment that managed to petrify me.
And still, the film is also scary due to the unbridled malice of the regular characters. Olga is a beautiful but cruel woman that cares about nothing but her own wellbeing. She was so intent on getting what she wanted, that as I watched I feared for Hans and Frieda’s lives.
The movie also has some heartwarming moments that pierce your soul, like the scene in which the Pinheads are playing in the pasture, or the welcoming chant during the wedding feast. You feel for this group of outcasts that have somehow found a family in each other.
However, Freaks is not without its problems.
Although the characters introduced seem interesting, we only get to meet most of them superficially. As a result, all we see are moments and random interactions between these characters, but we never get to know most of them.
Some of these smaller exchanges and actions are meant to show how the members of the ‘freaks’ all trust and help each other. Yet, unfortunately, the camera seems to stop and focus on impressive actions, and in that way, it treats them like exhibitions instead of humans. Thus, it ends up allowing us to peep at them and marvel at their oddness…much like what a circus would do.
Likewise, the film criticizes the regular folk for their cruelty, but at the same time chooses to link the freaks with savagery and violence. This undermines the good will of the story, even if it’s perfectly effective for the narrative.
In spite of everything, Freaks manages to elicit many different emotions in the viewer, from grief to terror, and even a sense of triumph! It’s complex, and unlike anything we would see nowadays. I suspect it might be a little divisive for modern audiences, so I recommend watching it and making up your own mind.
Grade: 8/10. Eerie, yet heartbreaking.
Scare Factor: very haunting images.
Gore/Violence: nothing too graphic. It’s mostly implied.
Nudity/Sexual Situations: none.
Previous Night: ‘Fright Night’ (‘85)
Next up: ‘Eraserhead’ (‘77)
